


Aggregate

by Katflap (Batman_in_Lingerie)



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Biology, Character Study, Childhood Trauma, Dialogue Heavy, Eating of Inedible Materials, Kryptonian Biology, M/M, Mentions of Pica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24944875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batman_in_Lingerie/pseuds/Katflap
Summary: Bruce finds out about a habit of Clark's.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 31
Kudos: 278





	Aggregate

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo. Please read the tags. If anything there is an issue for you, please proceed with caution. This is just meant as a different take on Kryptonian biology so I hope you all can enjoy it for that. If you wish for more clarity on the tags, please click to see the end of notes where I explain them more in depth.

The only reason Bruce noticed was because of Clark.

If he hadn’t have brought it up, Bruce was certain he wouldn’t have known any different. It was just not something he ever spent a great deal of time focusing on. 

Whenever he baked a pie, or any pastry for that matter, he had taken to using a container of metal ball bearings to blind bake said pastry. It was a way to get a nice, crisp crust, without the sides falling or the bottom puffing. The ball bearings had seen ample usage since he had brought them and because of this, Bruce was rather diligent about making sure all of them went back into the container once he was finished with them.

Despite this, he hadn’t noticed that the containers contents had lessened over the months. When he emptied them onto the baking paper, and then put them back into their container once finished with them, he didn’t see that there was more space at the top than there once was. He doubts he ever would have noticed it, hence why, as Clark put the container back into the cabinet, his comment about how they would need to buy more, struck him.

He paused what he was doing and turned to Clark just as he shut the cabinet. “What do you mean?”

Clark’s face faltered for a moment, his mouth dropping as though to speak, though it took a noticeable breadth of time before any words did come out. “I just mean, some of the ball bearings must have gone missing. We’ll need to buy more. That’s all.”

  
  
“How would they have gone missing?” Bruce asked, raising a brow. “Let me see the container.”

  
  
He ignored Clark’s protests as he went to the cabinet and pulled open the door. He reached for the container and opened them up. Sure enough, he could see a clear space at the top of the container that had once been full. “I must have been seeing things, maybe there isn't any missing.” Clark added, leaning over Bruce to look into the container as well.

  
  
“No, no.” Bruce said, frowning. “You’re right. There are some missing, but…” he turned to where he had been standing, looking at the counter top and the floor. “How? I always make sure to put them back in when I've finished using them. I'm sure I would have noticed if some rolled over the counter.”

  
  
“Maybe it’s Alfred.” Clark added a touch too quickly. At Bruce's staring he looked away. “Or the boys, other people in the house may use them, you know.”

  
  
“But…” Bruce knew that was false. Alfred was the only other person who could feasibly use them, but much like him, Bruce was aware Alfred would be diligent in putting all the ball bearings back should any attempt to escape. 

There was just no possibility available that made sense to Bruce. Some were missing, and that meant that someone was responsible for that. He turned to Clark. “Have you been using them?”

  
  
“What?” Clark balked. “No, not me. You know I don't bake.” 

Bruce turned back to the container, putting the lid back on and setting them back. “Well, I suppose the mystery will remain unsolved.”

  
  
Bruce was lying of course. Clark was the worst liar in the world, and from the moment Bruce started probing he knew he was the one to blame. The only thing he couldn't understand was why Clark felt the need to lie about it, if he’d dropped the container and lost a few, it didn’t matter, they could just do as suggested and buy more. He just needed to figure out why Clark was lying.

Which is why the next time he baked, and Clark stood nearby, he was paying even closer attention to the container as Clark put it away.

And that's when he heard it.

A crunch.

He watched Clark from his periphery as he put the container away, and noticed the slight twitch of his jaw as he did so. 

Bruce couldn't help it, he let out a breath that slowly turned into a silent huff of laughter, because he must have been mistaken. Clark didn't just do what he thought he had done. 

He told himself he was an idiot for even thinking about it, yet it was with that same tinge of laughter that he ended up asking. “Clark, did you just  _ eat  _ a ball bearing?”

Someone else in his situation may have responded to such an outlandish accusation with an appropriate laugh, for who would ever ask such a strange question? Then again, Clark was never known to act like other people. His eyes blew wide as he turned to Bruce. “You saw that?”

  
“I- '' Bruce could see on Clark’s face this wasn’t a joke, and his own smile fell. “Wait." He frowned. "You actually ate the ball bearing.”

  
  
“I'm sorry.” Clark let out. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I won't do it again.” 

Bruce was still coming to grips with what exactly he had seen. He knew it had just been confirmed by what Clark had said, and yet, he had hoped the latter would disprove the former, and not confirm what he had thought to be an impossibility. “Why did you eat one in the first place?” Bruce ended up asking.

“I-” Clark looked down at himself, bringing his hands together. “I just like them.”

“The ball bearings?” Bruce frowned. 

  
  
“Yeah...” Clark chanced a look up at him, but must have not liked what was on Bruce's face as he looked back down. “I’m sorry, Bruce.”

  
  
“You keep apologizing, but i'm not mad.'' Bruce was still trying to put a pin on what he was, but it definitely wasn't mad. Confusion was the most prominent emotion if he had to name one. “I suppose i’m just wondering why you do it, and why you felt the need to keep it from me for so long.”

  
  
“Oh.” Clark said quietly, before letting out a breath. “I'm not meant to do it, so I guess it's a force of habit to apologize.” 

  
“”You’re not  _ meant _ to do it?”

  
  
Clark gave a shallow nod. “Yeah, Ma gets mad at me when I do it.”

With so many pieces of information, Bruce had to take a moment to try and piece them together. “I mean, I can understand  _ why  _ she’d be mad, Clark. They are inedible.” 

That caused a fidgety shrug. “Not to me they're not. I don't know why, but I've eaten a  _ lot _ of metal over the years, and not gotten sick or anything.” 

Bruce wanted to object to that, but if Clark could walk on the literal sun, it stood to reason eating a few bits of metal wouldn't hurt him. It was after that thought however, that the words ‘ _ a lot _ ’ stuck out to Bruce. “Wait, a lot? How long have you been eating metal?”

  
  
He thought for a moment. “Since I was ten, I think? It's hard to remember, but i’ve done it a while.”

Despite hearing it from Clark directly, Bruce's disbelief was palpable. “How does something like that even start? Were you just curious about the taste?”

  
  
“Sort of.'' Clark came slightly closer to Bruce, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “When I was younger, I used to be get really hungry. Ma would feed me of course, but even after I had seconds and heck, even thirds, I always wanted more. She thought I was being greedy, and said i'd get fat, so she said ‘no more seconds.’”

  
  
“Problem was, I  _ was  _ hungry, so I used to go into the crawlspace and eat the dirt, stuck my hands into it and ate it, just like that.” Clark took a deep breath. “It didn’t taste bad. It didn't make me sick either, and in a way, it satisfied me in a way that food never could. I’d eat it and actually get full.”

  
  
“Pa found me under there one day. Saw the hole I dug, saw me eating it. They were so mad, but it was just ‘cause they were so worried. They kept saying I would get sick, and how people aren't meant to eat dirt, but I told them how long I had been doing it for, and I think Ma realised that I was only doing it because I was hungry." He let out a breath. "She blamed herself, and after that I was allowed all the food I wanted, she never told me no to seconds ever again.” 

  
  
“But you still ate dirt?” Bruce murmured. “Even after that?”

  
  
“Yeah.” He looked up to Bruce. “I told you, food doesn't fill me up. I like the taste, sure, but other than that, it doesn't  _ do _ much for me. Maybe if that wasn't the case, I would have listened to Ma, but because it was, I kept eating dirt, and once my powers started to manifest I moved onto rocks and metal. Truth is, if you or Ma aren't feeding me…” Clark shrugged. “It's all I eat.” 

“Why didn't you tell me this sooner?” Bruce asked. 

“Because it's weird!” Clark said as he stood upright. “I _ know _ it's weird, I've read about it and when I spoke to Dinah about it she thought it was textbook pica, but the thing is, it's  _ not  _ a compulsion. I can stop eating it, and I have, but when I do, I feel-” Clark made a face. “I can't describe it, but its a feeling that not even sitting out in the sun can shake. It's like, I  _ need  _ to eat it or I don't feel normal.” 

Bruce thought for a moment, leaning his hip against the counter and crossing his arms. “You know, pregnant women sometimes suffer from pica.”

  
  
Clark leveled his stare at him, “Bruce, I'm not pregnant.”

  
  
He rolled his eyes. “I know that. I'm not saying you are, what I  _ am _ saying is that the reason some people suffer from it during pregnancy is because of mineral deficiencies. Their bodies require iron or zinc, and so it sends signals to the brain that makes them crave things like chalk or dirt. By the sounds of it, maybe you...'' He rolled his hand. 

“Have a mineral deficiency?” Clark asked quietly.

  
“It would make the most sense, your body does require more energy to function, and whilst caloric intake is important, minerals and vitamins are just as vital. It may be that you may need more than the average person, so much more in fact that you need it in its purest form or else you don't receive the same effects that say, I would receive from taking a multivitamin.”

  
“That…” Clark began to nod. “That would make a lot of sense...”

Bruce nodded. “So, from what I can see, if it doesn't make you sick, this isn’t something to be concerned about, and if anything I need to relearn how to cook for you.” 

That caused a smile, and Clark came in close to him, bringing his hands to his hips. “You don't need to relearn anything, Bruce. I love your cooking.” 

“Right, but wouldn't you love it more if…?” Bruce went from the cabinet and opened it once more, pulling the container from within, at Clark’s raised brow Bruce went over to the bowl where his pie filling sat. He pulled off the lid, and dumped the ball bearings in with the apples and gave it a quick stir before dumping it all into the waiting crust. “There.” He said, setting the bowl down and turning to Clark. “I mean, me and the boys will have to pick around the-”

  
  
But he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Clark’s lips were on his, and when Bruce pulled back he saw the tears welling in his eyes. “You're unbelievable, you know that?”

  
In the end, no one else got a look in with the pie. Clark finished it all, and Bruce watched him eating with so much joy, he wondered how he hadn't noticed sooner that Clark never ate with such vigor; more with the ardent pursuing that someone did something that  _ had _ to be done. Once he had finished, he sent a smile Bruce’s way that set his mind alive with how else to incorporate these new ingredients into their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> . Childhood trauma - Clark ate dirt as a child, not by force, but due to hunger.  
> . Mentions of pica/eating of inedible materials - Due to Clark eating metal, rocks and dirt, pica is thought to be the cause.  
> .Kyrptonian biology- It isn't pica that causes Clark to eat these materials, it is instead due to his physiology that he can eat and process these materials with no side effects. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this, it was just something different I wanted to explore. Clark is an alien, and I like the idea he does weird things that humans cannot, such as eating inedible materials. I may explore this idea further, i.e. delve into how Clark can process these materials, but we shall have to see if I do.
> 
> Also, I hope it goes without saying, but this fic is not about painting Martha and Jonathan in a bad light. Clark doesn't resent them at all, as their knowledge of Kyrptonian biology was next to none, especially what that means for their eating habits under a yellow sun.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed. Until next time x


End file.
